The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 83 points to 12,758.85 (0.66%), the NASDAQ rose nearly 32 points (1.14%) to 2,818.31, and the S&P 500 rose 0.87% or more than 11 points to 1,326.06.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) cut to ‘neutral’ at JPMorgan; Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) raised to ‘outperform’ at Oppenheimer; Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL) cut to ‘neutral’ at Macquarie; and Regions Financial (NYSE: RF) raised to ‘outperform’ at RBC Capital and cut to ‘neutral’ at BofA/Merrill Lynch. Znyga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA) gets starting calls from four brokers: ‘overweight’ at Barclays and JPMorgan; ‘buy’ at Goldman Sachs; and ‘neutral’ at BofA/Merrill Lynch.

Earnings reports since markets closed on last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Apple is up 6.4% at $447.17, after posting a new 52-week high this morning of $454.45; Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD) is up nearly 3% at $6.72; Altera Corp. (NASDAQ: ALTR) is up 1% at $40.54; Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) is down -0.6% at $15.60; ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is down -0.9% at $70.01; Praxair Inc. (NYSE: PX) is down -2.8% at $106.05; Wellpoint Inc. (NYSE: WLP) is down -4.9% at $66.01; US Airways Group Inc. (NYSE: LCC) is up more than 18% at $7.59; and Xerox Corp. (NYSE: XRX) is down nearly -10% at $7.81.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Illumina Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN) is up more than 46% at $55.16. The genetic testing instrument maker is the target of a $5.7 billion hostile takeover offer from Roche Holdings AG.

Rubicon Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: RBCN) is down nearly -12% at $10.66. The LED lighting maker was downgraded from ‘buy’ to ‘hold’ at Needham yesterday on low demand.

Indiana Community Bancorp (NASDAQ: INCB) is up about 44% at $20.90 after posting a new 52-week high of $21.34 earlier. The bank holding company has agreed to be acquired by Old National Bancorp (NYSE: ONB) in an all-stock transaction.

Complete Genomics Inc. (NASDAQ: GNOM) is up 19% to $2.98. The DNA-sequencing company is getting a boost from the hostile takeover bid for Illumina.

NuVasive Inc. (NASDAQ: NUVA) is up about 19% at $16.31. The medical device maker had its shares stopped today following a report that it would not receive an injunction against selling a disputed product.

Stay tuned for Thursday. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

• 8:30 a.m. – Durable goods orders
• 8:30 a.m. – New claims for unemployment benefits
• 10:00 a.m. – New home sales
• 10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly natural gas storage report
• 4:30 p.m. – Fed balance sheet and money supply reports

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Paul Ausick

Apollo Group Inc. (NASDAQ: APOL) Reiterated Buy and raised price target to $63 from $55 at Argus.
ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ: ASML) Raised target at Credit Suisse.
AutoNation Inc. (NYSE: AN) Started as Neutral at Stern Agee.
Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) Cut to Underperform from Neutral at Zacks (late Monday call).
Choice Hotels (NYSE: CHH) Cut to Underperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Gulfmark Offshore, Inc. (NYSE: GLF) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
HSN, Inc. (NASDAQ: HSNI) Started as Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
ICICI Bank Ltd. (NYSE: IBN) Cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) maintained as the top tech/semi pick for 2012 from Credit Suisse.
Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) Reiterated Outperform and raised target to $36 from $32 at Credit Suisse.
Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. (NYSE: MMI) Maintained Sell at Argus.
Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) Cut to Underperform from Neutral at BofA/ML.
Overseas Shipholding Group Inc. (NYSE: OSG) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE: RSG) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Ryder System, Inc. (NYSE: R) named as value stock of the day at Zacks.
SM Energy Co. (NYSE: SM) Maintained Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX) Reiterated Buy and raised estimates at Argus.
Tidewater Inc. (NYSE: TDW) Started as Neutral at Credit Suisse.
The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) Cut to Equal-weight at Barclays.
Xerox Corporation (NYSE: XRX) Cut to Equal-weight at Barclays.

If you enjoyed the Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades, you can sign up in the box below to join our morning email list to receive news directly in your inbox each morning. We also include major IPO’s and M&A, special situation developments, observations on Warren Buffett and key market gurus, as well as special exclusive feature stories.

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JON C. OGG

In alphabetical order of their ticker symbols:  Avery Dennison Corporation (NYSE: AVY); Bemis Company, Inc. (NYSE: BMS); Dean Foods Co. (NYSE: DF); Johnson Controls Inc. (NYSE: JCI); Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE:  KFT); Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE: LEG); Newell Rubbermaid Inc. (NYSE: NWL); Phillips-Van Heusen Corp. (NYSE: PVH); Rock-Tenn Co. (NYSE: RKT); Sealed Air Corporation (NYSE: SEE); and, Xerox Corp. (NYSE: XRX).

Price to book values range from Xerox’s 1.1 to Johnson Controls’ 2.4.  Even though we identified these companies in searching for attractive price to book values, every one of them offers respectable next-year earnings growth.  Analysts expect next-year earnings expansion ranging from Newell Rubbermaid’s 10.6% to Rock-Tenn’s 39%.  All sport forward PE multiples below 14.   Forward PE’s range from Xerox Corp’s 8.1 to Kraft Foods’ 13.9.

Seven of the eleven companies boast an implied upside price expansion exceeding 20%, based on current share prices versus consensus price targets. Leggett & Platt, Newell Rubbermaid, Xerox and Johnson Controls lead the rest with implied price expansions ranging from more than 27% to close to 31%.  Each of these eleven companies has an average daily trading volume exceeding 750,000 shares. Except where otherwise noted, the source for all performance and financial data is Finviz.com.

Avery Dennison Corporation (NYSE: AVY) has a price to book value near 2.3  to 1.  The company’s market cap is just less than $4 billion giving it a middle-of-the-pack rank among these companies.  Its forward PE is about 10.2.  With a consensus target price of $46.71, the shares have an implied upside exceeding 25%.  Shares of Avery Dennison closed Friday at $37.19, down 1.56%.  The 52-week price range is $30.54 to $43.26.  This outfit that makes labels and other office products recently took a downgrade to “Neutral” at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.  It pays a nice dividend with a yield of close to 2.7% and shares were above $60 back in 2007 before the recession.

Bemis Company, Inc. (NYSE: BMS) has a price to book value of 1.8  to 1.  The company’s market cap is just less than $3.4 billion.  Its forward PE is near 12.5.  With a consensus target price of $34.89, the shares have an implied upside of 8.6% among the lowest of these companies.  Bemis Company shares closed Friday at $32.11, down 0.43.  The 52-week price range is $25.79 to $33.57. The packaging materials company also has a respectable dividend yield of about 3%, even if Goldman Sachs did downgrade the rating to “Sell” in recent weeks..

Dean Foods Co. (NYSE: DF) boasts a price to book value of 1.4  to 1, ranking it second among these companies.  The company’s market cap is $2.2 billion, the smallest of these companies.  Its forward PE is near 13.2, among the highest on this list.  With a consensus target price of $13.50, the shares have an implied upside 12.5%.  In Friday trading Dean Foods closed at $12.00, down 1.80% for the day.  The 52-week trading range is $7.13 to $13.90.  This milk and dairy producer has been in recovery mode.  It made this screen even after a recovery of more than 75% from the bottom.  In 2007, shares were worth more than $40.00.

Johnson Controls Inc. (NYSE: JCI) has a price to book value of 2.4 to 1, a comparatively high price to book value ratio among these companies.  With a market cap exceeding $26 billion, Johnson Controls is the second largest company ranked here.  Its forward PE is a tad greater than 12.  After robust expansion of earnings for the current year, analysts expect next-year earnings expansion exceeding 34%.  With a consensus target price of $48.50, the shares have an implied upside of 23.8%.  Shares of Johnson Controls closed Friday at $39.17, unchanged.  The 52-week price range is $25.63 to $42.35.  The car parts and systems manufacturer is one of the few which pay a dividend (about 1.6%) and this one has recovered mightily from the recession lows when shares fell to well under $10.00.

24/7 Wall St. looked at the brand valuations and methodologies of BrandZ, Interbrand, and Brandirectory. The first two list 100 brands each in their public studies. Brandirectory lists 500. Each would defend its valuations which use different “black box” systems for calculating value. That is probably because all three charge hefty fees for their services.

The explanations for their methodologies are even more convoluted.

Here is what BrandZ says:  “The brand value published is based on the intrinsic value of the brand – derived from its ability to generate demand. The dollar value of each brand in the ranking is the sum of all future earnings that brand is forecast to generate, discounted to a present-day value. Given the high volatility of financial markets over the past 12 months, the brand value is in some cases high relative to current market capitalization, reflecting true value rather than current market swings.” Where is the heart of that exercise? It is impossible to say.

• Click Here For The World’s Most Misunderstood Consumer Brands

Interbrands has three criteria: “1) Financial performance measures an organization’s raw financial return to the investors, 2) Role of brand measures the portion of the decision to purchase that is attributable to brand – this is exclusive of other aspects of the offer like price or feature, and 3) Brand strength measures the ability of the brand to secure the delivery of expected future earnings.” Without the exact data that Interband uses and details of how it is arranged to derive a value, it is impossible say how its process works.

Brandirectory describes its methodology this way: “The methodology employed in the BrandFinance Global 500 uses a discounted cash flow (DCF) technique to discount estimated future royalties, at an appropriate discount rate, to arrive at a net present value (NPV) of the trademark and associated intellectual property: the brand value.”

All three brand valuation companies admit that sales play a critical role in brand valuation. All three claim that their forecasts of future contributions of the brands to earnings are part of their proprietary analysis. All link brand value to the overall value of a brand’s parent company.

Again, the most telling part of the comparison among the three firms is that they differ very little on the 20 most valuable brands. Oddly enough, the best way to highlight the flaw in the three valuations methods is to look at Marlboro. Its value is ranked seventh best by BrandZ at $57 billion, 18th on the Interbrand list with a value of $20 billion and 499th on the Brandirectory list with a valuation of $2.3 billion. Marlboro is the primary brand of both Philip Morris and Altria. Altria has annual sales of $24 billion. Philip Morris sales are $67 billion a year. Even in the most cerebral and bizarre world, Marlboro could not be worth as little as $2.3 billion.

24/7 Wall St., to make its point about whether brand values can be fairly measured, looked at ten brands which are ranked high on one of the three brand value lists and much lower on others. We considered the brand value from the lists, the extent to which each brand is internationally known based on overseas sales, total annual revenue, and in many cases the age and durability of the brand.

Each of the brands on the 24/7 Wall St. list is not only a well-known name in the US but also in most places around the world. A review of the BrandZ, Interbrand, and Brandirectory lists leads to the conclusion that most brands are not valued properly. The ten we have chosen are particularly notable because the so-called experts have widely differing views on how much they are worth.

Read on for The World’s Most Misunderstood Consumer Brands

Filed under: General, Research Tagged: HNZ, K, MO, PM, VIA, XRX, YHOO, YUM ]]> http://247wallst.com/2011/03/23/the-world%e2%80%99s-most-misunderstood-consumer-brands/feed/ 0 HNZKMOPMVIAXRXYHOOYUM 247wallst Misunderstanding http://247wallst.com/2011/03/13/the-american-companies-the-chinese-will-buy/ http://247wallst.com/2011/03/13/the-american-companies-the-chinese-will-buy/#comments Mon, 14 Mar 2011 03:56:36 +0000 247wallst http://247wallst.com/?p=97640 ]]> “We will encourage the best firms to acquire or build up overseas operations and to license or acquire famous global brands in order to obtain international recognition and improve the image and competitiveness of Chinese products.”–Commerce Minister Chen Deming March 7, Fourth Session of the 11th National People’s Congress in Beijing 

“China’s demand for high-end products is currently the second largest in the world, and it will surpass Japan’s in four years”–Xinhua News.

“Consumption of high-end products in China rose 23 percent in 2010. The number of Chinese people shopping for luxury goods overseas increased 30 percent.”–Commerce Minister Chen Deming

It is rare that the Chinese government makes it intentions for overseas business expansion as clear as it did when the head of its Commerce Department said the central government would support the acquisition of major brands by local companies. China has built a large public investor market for its own corporations though IPOs of some of the nation’s huge firms like China Mobile and oil giant CNOOC. One of the reasons China has allowed these public listings is probably to encourage them to use their stocks as currency for M&A activity. Beyond that the People’s Republic has stockpile of capital to fund expansion of its largest companies. China has over $2 trillion in foreign currencies. The nation’s GDP continues to grow at 8%China has had almost no success it expanding it own brands so that they can be used to market products and services overseas. “The Brandz Top 100 Most Valuable Brands 2010” study lists a number with parent companies based in China. China Mobile is ranked as the 8th most valuable brand worldwide at $52.6 billion. The company has 300 million wireless customers, but is unknown by consumers outside China. The People’s Republic is not home to any brands with the global recognition of ones like Coke, Google. Marlboro, Apple, McDonald’s, HP, or Wal-Mart. All of these brands sell their products or services in China, and for some the People’s Republic is the critical market for future growth.

China’s plan is simple. It is easier to buy a brand which has a value based on years or decades of exposure than to build one, which has risk and could take a very long period of time. It is tempting to create a list of corporations with valuable brands which might be bought with Chinese government support by choosing companies like IBM, Disney, Colgate, or Intel. But, these corporations operate with large profits, have strong balance sheets, significant global market shares, and large market capitalizations. There is no reason for the boards of these firms to consider selling them. There is no reason for the US government to entertain their sales.

24/7 Wall St. identified ten companies or brands that might be sold. These are, for the most part, firms with strong brands but long records of poor financial performance. The sales, earnings, and share prices of several are still in steep decline. Other companies on the list are private and their equity and debt holders might be tempted to sell them at large premiums as a way to “exit” their investments with a significant return.

The public companies on the 24/7 Wall St. list of The Huge Global Brands China May Buy come from reviews of sales, the portions of sales which are outside the US, stock performance compared to the S&P 500 over the last five years, and data from Brandz and Interbrand about the value of each company’s brand. If a brand value for one of the companies on the list was not available, we looked at a comparable one. Our assumption is that Chinese firms with the proper financial resources could increase the sales and value of these brands by several means. The most immediate way to do this is to increase their presences in the world’s most populous nation. The final criteria to be selected for list is that the companies cannot be in “strategic” businesses like defence equipment or enterprise software. American regulators and politicians have already shown that they will not approve transactions in these sectors.

Read on for The 24/7 Wall St. Huge Global Brands China May Buy

Filed under: General Tagged: AAPL, DIS, EBAY, EK, GM, GOOG, HOG, HPQ, KO, MCD, MSFT, RIMM, TM, WMT, XRX ]]> http://247wallst.com/2011/03/13/the-american-companies-the-chinese-will-buy/feed/ 0 AAPLDISEBAYEKGMGOOGHOGHPQKOMCDMSFTRIMMTMWMTXRX 247wallst China http://247wallst.com/2011/02/03/america%e2%80%99s-ten-biggest-corporate-turnarounds/ http://247wallst.com/2011/02/03/america%e2%80%99s-ten-biggest-corporate-turnarounds/#comments Thu, 03 Feb 2011 08:34:41 +0000 247wallst http://247wallst.com/?p=94160 ]]> Corporate turnarounds are almost never engineered by a single person. A CEO who takes a failing company and makes it successful again obviously got help from management, a board, along with customers and shareholders. The vision for how a company can change and the execution skills to put the vision to work begin with the chief executive.

Most large turnarounds have several things in common. First, most new CEOs cut staff sharply to reduce costs and exit non-core businesses. Second, most turnarounds begin with a sharpened focus on core skills and products. Troubled companies often move back to their roots. That certainly happened at Starbucks and Ford. Other firms believe that they are missing one or two critical elements to be successful again. Those elements can be built, but are often bought as was the case when HP bought EDS. New CEOs in successful turnarounds often come from outside the corporation’s industry. This may be because outsiders can bring a fresh perspective and the very best CEOs can manage companies in many industries.

There are very few large American companies which have come close to collapse and then become wildly successful again. Most extremely successful US corporations start small and get big. The is certainly the case with Wall Street darlings such as Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM, Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), Coca Cola (NYSE: KO), McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD), Wal-Mart NYSE: WMT) and Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG).

Companies that have been in business for many years before their fortunes decline are the victims of a relatively small number of problems. The first of these is bad management. This has happened at Boeing (NYSE: BA) and Dell (NASDAQ: DELL). Executives often make mistakes in executing their plans. The Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner, for example, has been delayed several times. Dell has had legal problems and, according to some sources, released products it knew were flawed.

Other firms which move from success to failure miss the signs of a sea change in their industries. This happened to Sears (NASDAQ: SHLD) and K-Mart, which failed to see that Wal-Mart’s big box, low price strategy would dominate the market. Sony(NYSE: SNE) was blindsided by new video consoles from Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Nintendo after it controlled the market for years with its PS2. Sony also had an important foothold in portable media market with the Walkman. It did not extend that advantage into the digital age. Motorola dominated the high-end of the handset market with its RAZR. The company was nearly ruined when it failed to launch a strong product to capitalize on that success.

Some companies mistakenly believe that their future will be driven by mergers and acquisitions. Often these transactions are undermined by the difficulty of combining two cultures, two sets of products, and two sales and marketing operations. This happened to AMD (NYSE: AMD) when it bought graphic chip company ATI for $5.4 billion in 2006. AMD has never recovered from its inability to find ways to use ATI’s R&D – worse it was saddled with unbearable debt. The Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX) buyout of rival Guidant for over $27 billions failed. The two companies could not find the efficiencies that would drive lower costs and higher sales.

The last major reasons that large companies falter to the edge of extinction is market conditions. It would was impossible for airlines to predict the run-up of oil prices to over $140 in mid-2008. It would have been impossible for Pacific Ethanol to predict a rise in corn prices.

24/7 Wall St. looked at a number of companies which have been through major turnarounds in the last fifty years. Many are better off now than at any time in their histories.

Filed under: Autos, Bankruptcy, Conglomerates, Consumer Electronics, Corporate Governance, General, Hardware, Labor & Unions, Large Cap Stocks, Management Change, PC Companies, Shareholder Issues, Turnarounds Tagged: AAPL, AMD, AXP, BA, BSX, CAT, DELL, F, GM, GOOG, HPQ, IBM, INTC, KO, MCD, MO, MSFT, PG, PM, SBUX, SHLD, SIRI, SNE, WMT, XOM, XRX ]]> http://247wallst.com/2011/02/03/america%e2%80%99s-ten-biggest-corporate-turnarounds/feed/ 0 AAPLAMDAXPBABSXCATDELLFGMGOOGHPQIBMINTCKOMCDMOMSFTPGPMSBUXSHLDSIRISNEWMTXOMXRX 247wallst Steve Jobs http://247wallst.com/2010/09/13/top-active-trader-alert-stocks-aone-asti-arst-fas-dtg-open-oxgn-sgen-vmw-xrx/ http://247wallst.com/2010/09/13/top-active-trader-alert-stocks-aone-asti-arst-fas-dtg-open-oxgn-sgen-vmw-xrx/#comments Mon, 13 Sep 2010 12:57:45 +0000 Administrator http://247wallst.com/?p=79662 ]]> This Monday has many stocks on the move for active traders and day traders.  Stocks on the move are A123 Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: AONE), Ascent Solar Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: ASTI), Arc Sight, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARST), Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (NYSE: FAS), Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. (NYSE: DTG), OpenTable, Inc. (NASDAQ: OPEN), OXiGENE, Inc. (NASDAQ: OXGN), Seattle Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ: SGEN), VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW), and Xerox Corporation (NYSE: XRX).

A123 Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: AONE) is surging after it opened the largest lithium ion automotive battery manufacturing plant in North America.  The CEO has also been giving a CNBC interview to show how these batteries will be for domestic sale and will also be exported.  Shares are up 10.7% at $8.15 on over 150,000 shares.

Ascent Solar Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: ASTI) is surging on news that it has a deal with Radiant Holding Ltd. in China to distribute its PV modules in China’s solar market.  Ascent shares are up 8.6% at $3.16.

Arc Sight, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARST) is trading higher by 25% at $44.07 on more than 2.5 million shares after Hewlett-Packard announced a $43.50 per share offer to acquire ArcSight for its security and compliance.

Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (NYSE: FAS) is seeing a surge this morning on relief rallies in many financial shares this morning.  With the triple-leverage, shares are up 4% at $22.29 on more than 325,000 shares.

Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. (NYSE: DTG) is up 5.7% at $50.75 on over 140,000 on a sweetened $50 merger bid from Hertz.

OpenTable, Inc. (NASDAQ: OPEN) is trading up after Citigroup raised its rating to BUY from HOLD… Shares are up 4.1% at $59.21.

OXiGENE, Inc. (NASDAQ: OXGN) is surging on positive results against Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer treatment.  Shares are up 47%, but this is just a $0.40 stock even after the move.

Seattle Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ: SGEN) is trading lower after a tria lof its leukemia drug failed to met their endpoints.  Shares are down nearly 5% at $12.10 on more than 200,000 shares.

VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW) is down after Barron’s noted cautiously about its growth prospects and that it is vulnerable to competition and trades at 61-times expected earnings.  Shares are down 1.3% at $83.80 on light trading.  It is surprising this did not take more of a bite out of the company.

Xerox Corporation (NYSE: XRX) was given the front-page cover story called “Just Try to Copy That” noting it could go to $14 or $15 in the next year.  Shares are trading up 5.5% at $9.61 on over 150,000 shares.

You can join our free daily email distribution list to hear more about dividend trends, analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader and active trader alerts, news on Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

JON C.OGG

Filed under: Pre-Market Activity, Trading Alert Tagged: AONE, ARST, ASTI, DTG, FAS, OPEN, OXGN, SGEN, VMW, XRX ]]> http://247wallst.com/2010/09/13/top-active-trader-alert-stocks-aone-asti-arst-fas-dtg-open-oxgn-sgen-vmw-xrx/feed/ 0 AONEARSTASTIDTGFASOPENOXGNSGENVMWXRX Administrator http://247wallst.com/2010/09/12/the-unusual-suspects-for-the-week-ahead-abt-adbe-aapl-alth-bby-lng-cqp-csco-solr-intu-kv-a-nbg-nflx-orcl-rimm-skx-vmw-xrx-id-casy/ http://247wallst.com/2010/09/12/the-unusual-suspects-for-the-week-ahead-abt-adbe-aapl-alth-bby-lng-cqp-csco-solr-intu-kv-a-nbg-nflx-orcl-rimm-skx-vmw-xrx-id-casy/#comments Sun, 12 Sep 2010 14:20:48 +0000 Administrator http://247wallst.com/?p=79584 ]]> There are many key stocks to watch for The Unusual Suspects for the week ahead.  Barron’s was rather influential, we have several carry-over issues from last week that are unresolved, there are several in-play names and we have earnings to look for.  The cast of characters in this week’s Unusual Suspects will feature Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT), Adobe Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Allos Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALTH), Best Buy Co. (NYSE: BBY), Cheniere Energy, Inc. (AMEX: LNG), Cheniere Energy Partners LP. (AMEX: CQP), Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO), GT Solar International, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOLR), Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU), KV Pharmaceutical Co. (NYSE: KV-A), National Bank of Greece SA (NYSE: NBG), Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX), Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL), Research In Motion Limited (NASDAQ: RIMM), Skechers USA Inc. (NYSE: SKX), VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW), Xerox Corporation (NYSE: XRX), L-1 Identity Solutions Inc. (NYSE: ID), and Casey’s General Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: CASY) are all ongoing issues to watch.

We have compiled the news or the catalyst for each, as well as offered additional color and an expected move for the week ahead.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) is already worth almost $80 billion so we’d normally not care so much about one upcoming drug.  The issue coming this Wednesday is a FDA panel review of its Meridia drug, which is to treat obesity.  As the obesity class is largely unmet and as there have been many FDA roadblocks on this indication for others, this could easily be a new blockbuster drug if ultimately approved.

Adobe Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE) and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) are one issue.  It appears as though Steve Jobs decided that he was being too much like some other Technocrats in his heavy-handed and severely limiting blockage of Flash.  This last week Apple relaxed some App restrictions and requirements, and Wall Street’s vote was that this means that Adobe’s Flash will now get to run on iPhone and iPad platforms. While Adobe closed down 2% at $32.20 Friday, its shares closed up 9.5% for the week and its 52-week range is $26.01 to $38.20.  With Samsung apparently bringing a tablet earlier than expected, Steve Jobs may have waited too long to stop his heavy-handed tricks.

Allos Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALTH) was up 6.8% at $4.25 on Friday after it was floated out there are as one of the possible takeover candidates in the sector.  Frankly, the argument sounded weak but there was over 300% normal share volume and the low call option volume was actually well above normal trading levels.  The 52-week trading range is $3.58 to $8.79.

Best Buy Co. (NYSE: BBY) has earnings this coming Tuesday.  With all the technology warnings seen and with the building of inventories, we have been critical of the lack of any guidance from the company.  It has to be expected that Best Buy will talk down the yearly results when it reports, but there is a lot of that warning already baked into the cake now.  At $33.88, its 52-week range is $30.90 to $48.83.

Cheniere Energy, Inc. (AMEX: LNG) saw a large pop of Friday night after it already closed up almost 6% at $2.66 Friday because of a Department of Energy approval allowing it to sell LNG all over the world.  But then came more than a 10% pop after Jim Cramer talked it up on CNBC’s MAD MONEY.  The 52-week trading range is $1.77 – $5.40, but investors may also not want to forget about the Cheniere Energy Partners LP. (AMEX: CQP) in there also.

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) has its analyst meeting on Tuesday.  You know the routine and it is not an uncertain outlook.  Chambers needs to address this dividend.  Cisco is a tech growth leader, but the stock has been dead money and by the looks of it all the share buybacks conducted to date have just been to keep employee stock options from diluting the stock too bad.  Chambers always talks about “Caishe-flow” and he needs to start paying a dividend.

Filed under: ADR, After-Hours Activity, Analyst Calls, Banking, Biotech, Calendar, Consumer Electronics, Earnings, Mergers and Buy Outs, Rumors, Technology Companies Tagged: AAPL, ABT, ADBE, ALTH, BBY, CASY, CQP, CSCO, ID, INTU, KV-A, LNG, NBG, NFLX, ORCL, RIMM, SKX, SOLR, VMW, XRX ]]> http://247wallst.com/2010/09/12/the-unusual-suspects-for-the-week-ahead-abt-adbe-aapl-alth-bby-lng-cqp-csco-solr-intu-kv-a-nbg-nflx-orcl-rimm-skx-vmw-xrx-id-casy/feed/ 0 AAPLABTADBEALTHBBYCASYCQPCSCOIDINTUKV-ALNGNBGNFLXORCLRIMMSKXSOLRVMWXRX Administrator bull-and-bear-image http://247wallst.com/2010/08/04/as-jj-faces-crisis-questions-arise-about-boards-role/ http://247wallst.com/2010/08/04/as-jj-faces-crisis-questions-arise-about-boards-role/#comments Wed, 04 Aug 2010 16:10:34 +0000 247wallst http://247wallst.com/?p=75730 ]]> This has been a year to forget for Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ).  Unfortunately for shareholders, the company’s board appears ill-equipped to handle two serious problems that may tarnish the company’s reputation.

In January, the U.S.  Department of Justice accused J&J of paying millions of dollars in kickbacks to Omnicare  Inc., the largest U.S. pharmacy for nursing home patients,  in exchange for pushing prescriptions for its products including the antipsychotic drug Risperdal.  That same month, the company’s McNeill Consumer Products business expanded its recall of Tylenol to  include such other popular over-the-counter brands as Benadryl, Motrin, and Rolaids after consumers complained of a musty smell.

Not surprisingly, the New Brunswick, New Jersey company is fighting the accusations.  It asked a federal judge to throw out the Omnicare case.  Last month, J&J recalled even more lots of Tylenol and other over-the-counter medicines as a precautionary measure.  Shareholders are concerned enough about the accusations to have sent the company’s shares down 8 percent this year.  So the question emerges about whether the company has the right leadership to weather these two serious problems.  The make-up of the board should give shareholders cause for concern.

The first red flag is the presence of academics.  As the New York Times recently noted, companies like having  them on boards of directors for public relations purposes and not for their skills in overseeing a Fortune 500 company.  J&J’s board has University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman and Emery University Chancellor Michael M.E. Johns.  There are researchers such as Susan L. Lindquist, Professor of Biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and David Satcher of the Morehouse School of Medicine who posses scientific acumen but probably have little guidance to offer on managing a crisis.

The problems do not end there.  Chuck Prince, whose financial supermarket strategy created a disaster for Citigroup Inc. (C), is a member.  What good could he be doing for J&J?  Many members, Prince included, serve on other boards.  Prince has been on the Xerox Inc. (NYSE: XRX) board since 2008. Former Xerox CEO Ann Mulchahy, who is on the board, left the company in 2009. CEO William Weldon is on the board of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) Board member James G. Cullen,  a retired telecommunications executive, sits on  four boards including J&J. He is presiding director of the board, Chairman of the Audit Committee and a member of the Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee.  Where does he find the time?

J&J  needs to get serious about addressing the myriad of problems its facing. A good place to start is at the boardroom.

Jon Berr

Filed under: Pharmaceuticals Tagged: JNJ, JPM, XRX ]]> http://247wallst.com/2010/08/04/as-jj-faces-crisis-questions-arise-about-boards-role/feed/ 0 JNJJPMXRX 247wallst tylenol http://247wallst.com/2010/05/05/media-digest-552010-reuters-wsj-nytimes-ft-bloomberg/ http://247wallst.com/2010/05/05/media-digest-552010-reuters-wsj-nytimes-ft-bloomberg/#comments Wed, 05 May 2010 07:57:10 +0000 247wallst http://247wallst.com/?p=66748 ]]> Reuters:   Calm water is helping manage the Gulf oil spill.

Reuters:   April retail sales should be up in a sign of consumer recovery.

Reuters:   The US is questioning Johnson & Johnson’s (NYSE: JNJ) claims about Tylenol.

Reuters:   Gold prices are under pressure as the dollar rises

Reuters:   Key senators are in partial agreement on the financial reform bill.

Reuters:   Nokia oy (NYSE: NOK) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) launched new mobile platforms.

Reuters:   Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is revamping its software to move further into the handheld market.

Reuters:   The Dollar-Thrifty merger will face antitrust concerns.

WSJ:   Top executives and alumni at Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE: GS) are questioning whether Blankfein can hold his job.

WSJ:   Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) is planning to sell books through a new e-book program

WSJ:   The bead of BP plc (NYSE: BP) is meeting with members of Congress to make his case.

WSJ:   Citigroup (NYSE: C) plans funds for low-income areas.

WSJ:  Massey’s board is looking into safety problems.

WSJ:   Companies are re-evaluating the impact of large layoffs.

WSJ:   Toyota Motor (NYSE: TM) reorganized its marketing staff.

WSJ:   Xerox(NYSE: XRX) plans a drive into the services area.

WSJ:   The bailout of Greece did not help calm Europe.

WSJ:   Lawyers are fighting for the top spots in the Toyota litigation.

WSJ:   Chemicals are helping break-up the Gulf oil spill.

WSJ:   Wellpoint may have relied on inaccurate figures as a reason to raise rates.

WSJ:   Pearson sold IDC to private equity groups.

WSJ:   Chrysler will offer zero percent financing.

WSJ:   Profits at Merck (NYSE: MRK) and Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) grew.

WSJ:   Investors will find out whether Jeff Bewkes’ overhaul of Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) has worked.

WSJ:   Agricultural Bank of Japan could have a $30 billion IPO.

WSJ:   Bonds in big banks fell on Europe concerns.

WSJ:   Buffett is keeping pressure on Kraft (NYSE: KFT) after its buyout of Cadbury.

WSJ:   The financial crisis panel will review whether banks used accounting tricks to hide problems.

WSJ:   A financial reform plan dropped the plan to shutter failed banks.

WSJ:   CNN and CBS (NYSE: CBS) are in talks to gather news together.

FT:   Prudential UK is delaying a $20 billion rights issue and is in talks with regulators

FT:   John Paulson said he would cover any legal costs due to his firm’s relationship with Goldman Sachs.

FT:   Goldman Sachs is adding to its legal team.

FT:   Debate over the financial reform bill is trying to resolve whether banks should pay for a $50 billion bailout fund

Bloomberg:   Greek air traffic controllers walked off the job.

Bloomberg:   Obama wants a higher cap on the amount oil companies will have to pay for spill liabilities.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Filed under: Press Digest Tagged: BP, CBS, GOOG, GS, INTC, JNJ, KFT, MRK, MSFT, NOK, PFE, TM, TWX, XRX ]]> http://247wallst.com/2010/05/05/media-digest-552010-reuters-wsj-nytimes-ft-bloomberg/feed/ 0 BPCBSGOOGGSINTCJNJKFTMRKMSFTNOKPFETMTWXXRX 247wallst newspaper